By Karen Wienberg | Chair, Board of Directors
What continuing, lasting impacts your support and care are nurturing!
These summer months have seen continued BIG steps. Following our amazing collaboration with the Clinton Foundation initiative, Our Garden Haiti, training program that I told you about in the July report, the students did some practicing at the main Transitional Safehouse garden with the local Agronomist/instructor looking on. (photo attached)
Along with learning about gardening, the program included classes in financial management, English lessons, leadership and team work. (photos attached). To support their success as we return them to their rural homes, we will be providing some garden tools and have the agronomist do regular follow up visits to ensure that they are able to apply all they have learned, creating lush vegetable gardens in their villages.
The busiest time is upon us as we rush to get over 240 children and youth, in various communities throughout Haiti, ready for the coming school year. In Haiti, ALL SCHOOL IS PRIVATIZED. So that means 240 children’s tuition must be paid, uniforms made and school supplies purchased and distributed! We do this in person to ensure that there is a regular communication and accountability between the schools, the families and Little Footprints Big Steps. We receive report cards, review homework, discuss progress and problems with the teachers and tutors regularly and many of the children are transported to and from school by our Outreach staff. (photos – getting school books ready)
During recent outreach visits, Morgan and the Outreach staff brought some of the children into Les Cayes from the rural communities to stay at the Girl's Safehouse or Transitional Safehouse for this school year so that they can attend additional schooling and have some needed medical attention. (photo of Tafayou and Morgan attached)
Confidence, leadership, dependability…these are characteristics built to last a lifetime. Being a positive part of the community does that. These boys in our Transitional Safehouse - formerly in the streets - recently volunteered their time to help clean up their city! (photo attached)
We don’t know everything that the weeks ahead will bring, but, because of YOU we know that lives will change. Children and youth will learn how to write and read and count. They will learn about their country and the world around them. They will learn that tomorrow CAN be different than yesterday. They will learn that THEY matter.
Thank you from all of us at Little Footprints Big Steps.
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